Ernest Varacalli (born March 23, 1944), or "Junior", is a New York mobster who belongs to the

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family, () also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American M ...

, one of the five New York crime families. Varacalli has used as many as nine different aliases during his criminal career.

Car theft ring

In May 2001, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI), in conjunction with the

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

's office, arrested Varacalli for

insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any act committed to defraud an insurance process. It occurs when a claimant attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage they are not entitled to, or when an insurer knowingly denies some benefit that is due. According to the ...

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

, and other charges. Varacalli was the alleged ring leader of the biggest stolen car empire in New York City. New York Police Commissioner Bernard B. Kerik said that Varacalli made more than $10.5 million a year stealing cars to order and dispatching thieves to steal

air bags An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. Th ...

from specific cars, based on orders from auto parts shops around the city.The New York Daily News: Hearts, Flowers, Bullets. Dec. 6, 1994 Some of those cars were "stolen" with the consent of their owners who wanted to get out of lease payments. Varacalli's crew was responsible for the theft of about 600 auto airbags. In 2002, Varacalli was sentenced to 10 years in prison and received a $1 million fine. He was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Otisville, New York. On December 21, 2009 Varacalli was released from prison.

Mob wife

Camille Colucci, Varacalli's third wife, was also accused of falsifying business documents in connection with the stolen car ring. She pleaded guilty and was fined $400,000. During the 1970s, Colucci became the center of a messy Mafia "

love triangle A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with so ...

." Thomas Spero, the nephew of a Mafia Capo, was infatuated with Colucci, but she was already married (not to Varacalli then), but to a mob associate named Joseph Colucci. According to Gambino family

turncoat A turncoat is a person who shifts allegiance from one loyalty or ideal to another, betraying or deserting an original cause by switching to the opposing side or party. In political and social history, this is distinct from being a traitor, as the ...

"Sammy the Bull" Gravano, Spero's uncle, Thomas "Shorty" Spero², arranged for him to kill Camille's husband. Gravano told the FBI this was his first hit. "I shot him twice in the head," Gravano said, "Then three more times when his body was dumped out of the car on Rockaway Parkway, (a street in Canarsie, Brooklyn)." Once Colucci became a widow, she married the younger Spero.

References

External links

US Department of Justice Press Release: Giovanelli Super Indictment
* ttps://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/012306pzor.pdf Order List--January 23, 2006* ttp://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2002/12/20/25055.htm Insurance Journal: N.Y. Man Sentenced for Running Auto Chop Shop {{DEFAULTSORT:Varacalli, Ernest 1944 births Anti-competitive practices Genovese crime family American gangsters of Italian descent Living people Criminals from New York City